December 31, 2010 6:02 pm

Isaiah Thomas’ 17 point performance today at UCLA launched him past four former Huskies and up to 16th place on the school’s all-time scoring list.

One of the players he passed was Paul Fortier, now a UW assistant.

“I just congratulated him,” Fortier said. “I knew he was coming up there, because I knew the other names that he was coming up to. I knew I was a name as well. I’m happy for Isaiah. As I told him after in the locker room, I’m happy that he passed me. He’s a great person.”

Fortier played from 1983-86. Three of his teams advanced to the NCAA tournament. In his senior season, he served as team captain and averaged 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds.

When Fortier woke up this morning, he ranked 14th among all-time Huskies with 1,326 career points.

However, by the time he left Pauley Pavilion, he had dropped a notch, as Thomas’ 1,335 points moved him past Mark Sanford (1,318 points from 1995-97), Clarence Ramsey (1,323 points from 1974-76), Fortier and Bruno Boin (1,330 points from 1955-59).

Thomas, a Tacoman who played at Curtis High School, scored more points over his first two seasons than any other Husky.

He said he was unaware of passing Fortier until the coach told him.

And he made clear that he has a higher target in mind.

“He just said something in the locker room,” Thomas said. “I’m coming for that No. 1 spot. That’s what I told him.”

Washington’s career scoring leader is Chris Welp, who scored 2,073 points from 1984-87.

About

A proud native of Longview, Wash., Christian Caple joins The News Tribune after covering Washington State football and men's basketball for two years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane (though he lived in Pullman). He is a 2010 graduate of the University of Washington, an avid NWAACC basketball fan, and is unsure how to proceed now that Breaking Bad is over.

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